The polling day for 2012 elections in Goa is on the 3rd of March, so 2nd of March to 4th of March will likely be declared as the "Dry Days" in Goa and Liquor retailers will have to be closed on those days.

By law both sale and consumption of liquor is illegal on dry days.

But these "Dry Days" laws are not strictly enforced in the popular tourist areas like Baga beach where most shacks will make liquor available to their regular customers without openly displaying liquor bottles on the tables and all will be fine as long as the customers drink quietly pretending that they are just enjoying a mug of soft drink.

To add, no one will stop you from stocking up the day before such dry days, now consume in the safety and comfort of your hotel room or so. That's precisely what locals will do, in of course the comfort of their homes. (It follows that wine shops aka liquor stores can be quite the mad circus on such a day before. Mind your wallet, and all, or shop the day before that. If indeed you realize there's a dry day coming up at all, it would usually just catch me by surprise. I don't know about Goa btw, and if Tom says it should be OK with the regular tourist spots there I believe that, but in some other places it can really mean there's just not a drop to be had anywhere in town.)

(So now other readers may wonder so what's with these dry days? Well, it varies a lot locally, but often festival or indeed election days will be dry days. Then some states or areas may have one dry day a week. Then some states are still dry states altogether, save for perhaps some designated and often posh bars called "permit rooms," and even these may then be closed once a week. Etc., there'll no doubt be further variations still.)

Public drinking save for in a bar & restaurant or so will generally be frowned upon if not indeed illegal anyway, so while again I can't say about Goa I'd not engage in it anyway. A beer on the beach and by a beach shack or so, yes, that should be OK. As Tom said then, maybe the proprietors would rather have you didn't on those days.

6th March will also be a dry day being votes counting day.
It may be eff. from mid-day of 5th
Dry day mainly apply to pubs/restaurant selling liquor.
We see almost all restaurants are closed on these days
Those restaurants which sell food and liquor, can continue selling food/meals but not liquor. For this they should hide or cover any display of bottles, at counter , shelves etc but most don't take risk and close their restaurant completely thus denying food to many including their daily customers.

One can have/drink as much at one's home or room.
For this one should stock enough..

Again, strictly talking, there are rules as to how much one can stock at any given time at home.

Dry day may not apply to hotels which serve food and drinks to their inhouse guests

Besides, there will be more Dry days in May/June due to Panchayat elections

Originally Posted by Joegoaukmost don't take risk and close their restaurant completely thus denying food to many including their daily customers.

Now that you mention, good point; I again can't know about Goa (would indeed somehow expect the regular tourist business to go on pretty much as usual), but have had it in some other places that there's nary a bite to be had on such days, either. (Or I think shopping to be done, etc.) Pretty annoying, indeed, esp. of course if as a goofy visitor it does catch you unawares.

What part of Goa were you "seeing"?
The entire coastal strip will be open as usual, simply disguising the sale of booze with china cups, serviettes, whatever, they have a living to make, selling mainly to foreigners/out of state Indians who couldnt give a toss about Goas elections..........they have spent a lot of their hard earned money on a holiday, and the last thing they want to be told is that they cannot have a drink?

Originally Posted by johnny five
What part of Goa were you "seeing"?
The entire coastal strip will be open as usual, simply disguising the sale of booze with china cups, serviettes, whatever, they have a living to make, selling mainly to foreigners/out of state Indians who couldnt give a toss about Goas elections

J5, that is no longer the case. Dry days are strictly enforced now because during the election the entire state government machinery comes under the control of the EC(Election Commission) and the local police as well as the local bureaucrats have to obey the EC. No exceptions. In the last election an SP(Superintendent) got suspended because he dared to defy the EC.

In March 2010 I was in Goa and there were a couple of dry days and I was amazed to find that not a single beach shack in Baga would serve alcohol! Even after midnight they were shit scared to serve beer! One of the shack owners who is well known to me confided that it was not worth the risk because the fines imposed by the EC were extremely punitive and there was no way to bribe your way out. He also mentioned that officials from the Excise department were conducting spot checks even at night.

I remember very clearly even the 5 star hotels on those days were prohibited from serving alcohol.

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